Desert racing is the act of racing

Racing

A sport race is a competition of speed, against an objective criterion, usually a clock or to a specific point. The competitors in a race try to complete a given task in the shortest amount of time...

 through the desert

Desert

A desert is a landscape or region that receives an extremely low amount of precipitation, less than enough to support growth of most plants. Most deserts have an average annual precipitation of less than...

 in a 2 or 4 wheeled off-road vehicle. Races, which generally consist of two or more loops around a course covering up to 40 miles, can take the form of Hare and Hound or Hare scramble

Hare scramble

Hare scramble is the name given to a particular form of off-road motorcycle racing. Traditionally a hare scramble can vary in length and time with the contestants completing multiple laps around a marked course through wooded or other rugged natural terrain...

 style events, and are often laid out over a long and harsh track through relatively barren terrain.

Point to point style races, including the famous Baja 1000

Baja 1000

SCORE Baja 1000 is an off-road race that takes place on Mexico's Baja California Peninsula in November. The Baja 1000 is part of the SCORE Championship Desert Racing Series that include the Baja 500, San Felipe 250 and the new San Felipe Challenge of Champions in place of the Primm 300 which had...

, attract nationally-ranked and celebrity drivers. This type of racing tests the endurance

Endurance

Endurance is the ability for a human or animal to exert itself and remain active for a long period of time, as well as its ability to resist, withstand, recover from, and have immunity to trauma, wounds, or fatigue. In humans, it is usually used in aerobic or anaerobic exercise...

 and capabilities of racer and machine, and while organized clubs or teams sometimes field multiple sponsored riders for particular events, desert racing in its purest form is largely an individual endeavor. Winning racers accrue points to advance their rank and placement in future contests.

Desert racing vehicles, which include rugged enduro-style motorcycle

Enduro motorcycle

An Enduro motorcycle is a motorcycle specially made for the Enduro sport, with the long travel and medium-hard suspension of a motocross bike conjoined with features such as a headlight and quiet muffler to make the bike street-legal for parts of the track...

, four wheeled all-terrain vehicle

All-terrain vehicle

An all-terrain vehicle , also known as a quad, quad bike, three wheeler, or four wheeler, is defined by the American National Standards Institute as a vehicle that travels on low pressure tires, with a seat that is straddled by the operator, along with handlebars for steering control...

s, pickup trucks (like Trophy Truck

Trophy Truck

Trophy Trucks are the fastest class of off-road racing vehicles designed and built to resemble modern pickup trucks. Although any truck that meets the safety standards can race the trophy truck class, they, for the most part, feature long travel suspensions and high power engines...

s), and dune buggies

Dune buggy

A dune buggy is a recreational vehicle with large wheels, and wide tires, designed for use on sand dunes or beaches. The design is usually a modified vehicle and engine mounted on an open chassis. The modifications usually attempt to increase the power-to-weight ratio by either lightening the...

, have specialized suspensions with increased wheel travel. The now-defunct Barstow to Vegas, which ran from 1964-1989, was a well known example of desert racing in North America

North America

North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...

. Desert racing, in its most organized form, began in Southern California in the 1920s.